


Phantom

by hopecanbeyoursword



Series: Iron Dad Bingo [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Danny Phantom AU, Gen, Harley Keener Says Fuck, Identity Reveal, Irondad, Michelle Jones as Sam Manson, Ned Leeds as Tucker Foley, Peter Parker as Danny Phantom, Superfamily, Vlad is just Vlad, and carol being a good aunt, and now there's a lot of peter and harley being brothers, and some fighting, but not to peter's parents, irondad spiderson was going to be the focus, it was only going to be about 3k, not the most realistic thing i've written, nothing that isn't seen in Danny Phantom or Marvel, oh well, rating because a few swears, spiderson, spot the John Mulaney reference, there are some descriptions of injuries, this prompt got away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21676534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopecanbeyoursword/pseuds/hopecanbeyoursword
Summary: Peter Parker (Stark-Rogers) plans to hide his powers from his family as long as possible. Sometimes, life doesn't turn out the way you want it to.Prompt: AU: TV/Movie
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Iron Dad Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1334488
Comments: 4
Kudos: 87
Collections: Iron Dad Bingo





	Phantom

Peter sighed as he looked at the clock. There was still an hour left of school, and as much as he liked school, he just wanted to leave. It had been a long day, with Flash picking on him, and having to fight a ghost that caused him to miss two periods, including lunch, which meant he hadn’t eaten. On top of missing lunch, he also had to miss one of his classes to send the ghost back to the Ghost Zone, resulting in a detention. His dad would not be very happy about it. It would be the fourth of the month.

When the bell rang, Peter ran out of the room, dodging the crowds gathered around lockers. After gathering his things, he waited for Ned and MJ at his locker. They were going over to MJ’s, which gave Peter a little more time to come up with an excuse so he wouldn’t have to tell his dad about the detention. Peter could forge the signature, and if he said he was with MJ or Ned, he was usually okay.

_Super Family Group Chat_

**_Aunt Pep:_ ** _We’re still on for tonight, right?_

**_Uncle Rhodey:_ ** _I hope so; I took the night off from work for you guys_

**_Harley_ ** _: come save me from dad and pops_

**_Dad:_ ** _yeah, 6:30. pete, you better be back home by 6_

**_Dad:_ ** _i resent that comment harley_

**_Peter:_ ** _i will i will. we’re just gonna hang out @ mj’s for a little_

**_Pops:_ ** _say hi to them for us!_

“Your parents?” MJ raised her eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Peter nodded. He slipped his phone into his pocket, ignoring the incoming texts. “Dad’s siblings are coming over for dinner tonight.” Though his father was an only child, his two best friends were as good as family, and had quickly become Peter’s aunt and uncle. He had other family on his pop’s side, but he didn’t see them as often. “Dad says I need to be home by six, and Pops says to tell you guys hi.”

“They still don’t know, do they?” MJ’s question was more of a statement.

“No,” Peter shook his head. “And I want to keep it that way. They’re _ghost_ hunters. It’s not exactly safe for me for them to know about me.”

“But they’re your parents,” Ned argued. “Wouldn’t they come around to it? I mean, yeah, finding out your son is part ghost will be a shock. But they love you.”

“I’m surprised dad hasn’t figured it out yet,” Peter admitted as they turned the corner. “He’s a genius. He also hasn’t caught onto all my detentions yet, but I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time.”

“Does Harley suspect anything?” Ned asked as they climbed the stairs to MJ’s house. It had been surprising to learn that her family was well-off. The Jones’ house was huge, and was equipped with everything they could ever want.

“No,” Peter shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s too busy with whatever he does at school. Honestly, as of recent, we haven’t seen much of each other. It’s easier to keep my secret that way.” Peter was part of the robotics club, debate team, and school band. Harley was a mathlete, and part of the Rube Goldberg team. While their interests overlapped, their schedules did not. When they were younger, they used to spend more time together. Having a brother in the same grade as you made life interesting. Peter was the younger of the two by seven months, something that Harley used to tease him about. Now, it was a miracle to get the whole family in one place at the same time. While Peter missed how close his family used to be, it made his ghost half easier to keep a secret. He had his two best friends who knew about it, which made him feel less alone.

“You’re not that subtle about it,” MJ raised her eyebrow as she looked at him.

Peter’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah, thanks, _Michelle_. I’m fully aware of that, thanks to you.”

She flipped him off as she grabbed the remote, but there was a small grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Sit down. We’ve got a project to finish.”

“Before we start the documentary,” Ned began, “do you mind if I grab some food?”

MJ waved her hand. “I don’t care. There’s plenty to go around.”

“Peter? Do you want anything?” Ned turned to look at his friend, knowing he hadn’t eaten at lunch.

“I’ll eat at dinner,” Peter waved off his friend’s concern. “You know how much food Pops cooks. There’s going to be more than enough. And he always makes the best stuff when Aunt Pep and Uncle Rhodey come over. I think he’s still afraid of them.” Peter laughed. He knew how protective his aunt and uncle were over his dad. His dad hadn’t had the easiest childhood, and he gotten through it because of his best friends. Instead of meeting the parents, his Pops met the best friends/siblings in everything but blood. Both Pepper and Rhodey were imposing figures. Pepper was the CEO of a large, successful company, one that had originally been inherited by Tony Stark. He wanted a different life, so he had passed it onto Pepper. He still designed technology for them, but he preferred his quieter life, after everything that had happened. And Uncle Rhodey was in the military, could pull rank on Steve, who had also once been part of the military.

“Well, your aunt _is_ one of the most powerful people in the world. She’s my favorite of your family. She’s who we should look up to, not reality stars.” MJ had strong opinions, which alienated a lot of the student body. However, she didn’t care. If someone couldn’t respect her views, they weren’t worth her time.

“You know, I’m not even going to be offended by that,” Peter grinned. “My aunt is pretty cool. All of them are. Pep, Nat, Carol, Maria, Hope, Peggy.”

“You got lucky, Parker,” MJ grumbled. “My family’s lame.”

“You can borrow mine. They love you.” Peter loved his family, even with as weird as they could get. None of his aunts and uncles were blood related to either of his parents, but they had become friends through the years. Peggy was from his Pops’ side, one of his two childhood best friends. Uncle Bucky was the other. Natasha was closer to Steve, but had met Tony first, and was very protective over him. Hope’s parents had known Tony’s, and they had known each other since they were young. They grew apart, but recently reconnected. Carol was really cool. She was an astronaut, along with her wife Maria. Peter often babysitter their daughter, Monica, and Hope’s step-daughter, Cassie. Carol had also been in the air force, which is where she met Maria.

Peter’s family was very mismatched. No one had the same name as each other, except his direct family. When he and Harley had been adopted, their legal name changed. However, when they were enrolled in school, they were enrolled using their birth name, so as not to draw attention to them. They didn’t want to be known because of their parents. Their parents were big names, as well as their family. Using their birth names allowed them a more normal childhood. So Harley was Harley Keener, and Peter, Peter Parker.

MJ and Ned knew the truth, but MJ insisted on using the last name Parker when teasing him. If she ever used a part of his legal last name, she usually stuck to his dad’s name. She said it was easier to use one name, and since “Stark” came first, and sounded better, that’s what she chose to use. She used “Rogers” when referring to Harley, if not using Keener, so the brothers could be easily differentiated.

“Alright,” Ned plopped down next to Peter with a plate of food. “I’m ready to watch this documentary.”

Peter checked his watch. “How long is it? I have to be home by six.”

“We’ll be done watching by about 5:45. You don’t live far away, so you should be fine.” MJ started the film.

“Unless you get sidetracked by a ghost,” Ned whispered.

* * *

It was just Peter’s luck that he _was_ distracted by a ghost. He was almost home, too. 

His two friends walked him home, hoping to say hi to his aunt and uncle. They were discussing the documentary, and the questions they had to answer, when Peter’s ghost sense went off. He sighed. They had almost made it to his house. “Great. I have to be home in five minutes, and now this happens. Let’s hope this fight ends quickly.” He called upon his ghost half, his school clothes transforming into a dark blue jumpsuit with a red logo on it. His brown hair faded to white, and his normal hazel eyes became a glowing green.

He shot up into the air, going after the ghost that was wrecking havoc on the next block. It wasn’t one Peter had seen before, so he took a moment to figure out what it was doing before attacking. The ghost was lifting cars up in the air, the passengers inside screaming for help. Peter flew towards them, fist glowing in warning to the ghost.

“Hey, ghost-y!” Peter called out. “Put them down if you know what’s good for you!” He taunted the ghost into paying attention to him, instead of the civilians. Peter didn’t have much trouble throwing himself into danger when he was his alter ego. He had powers, and it was his responsibility to protect the people in his town. His parents, while ghost hunters, could only do so much. Peter could go intangible to avoid being hurt, but his parents could be knocked out.

The ghost let the car drop, and Peter rushed to save the passengers. Once they were safe, he passed them off to MJ and Ned to check up on, while he turned to face the ghost. Except there wasn’t just one ghost anymore. Apparently, the new ghost had friends, and called on a lot of ghosts who didn’t like Peter all that much.

“Just great,” Peter muttered as he was blown backwards by a blast. This was not going to be a fun fight, and his parents would be upset if he was late. They had been planning this dinner for months. Uncle Rhodey was able to take a few days off and fly in to visit. Pepper had gotten ahead in her paperwork, Harley took off from work.

The next half hour or so passed in a blur. Trees were knocked down, Peter was thrown into a brick building before he was able to go intangible. He was lucky his friends carried ghost hunting gear in their bags at all times in case a situation like the one he was currently in ever arose.

With their help, he managed to catch all the ghosts, capturing them, or sending them back to the Ghost Zone.

As soon as his feet were back on the ground, he shifted back to his normal self. He took his bag, that Ned had been holding for him, and broke into a run. His watch read 6:35. His friends were behind him, but he paid them no mind. He had to get home, and hope his parents wouldn’t ground him for life. Just as his house came into view, Peter fell.

“Peter Benjamin Parker Stark-Rogers!”

Groaning, Peter pushed himself up off the ground. He was exhausted from the fight against all of the ghosts. Normally, there was only one or maybe two he had to fight at a time. Usually, Peter could handle it, but he hadn’t eaten lunch, and hadn’t gotten any sleep, so he was running on empty. As soon as he turned back to his normal self, he had tried to run home, only to collapse on the sidewalk. And his dad had used his _entire_ name, meaning he was in big trouble. His entire name had only been used maybe twice in the past.

MJ and Ned were a few feet behind him, reaching down to hoist him up as his father called out to him.

“Hey, dad,” Peter sheepishly waved as soon as he was back on his feet. “Ow,” he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his chin where it had scraped on the concrete. His fingers came back with a few droplets of blood.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Uh-”

“It’s six thirty-seven! I told you to be home over half an hour ago.”

“There were ghosts, Mr. Stark,” Ned offered up. “We got caught up in it.” He pointed down the street, where they could see some of the destruction.

The word _ghost_ always changed his parents’ demeanor, and both his friends were aware of it. It was the easiest way to distract from Peter’s odd behavior. Tony and Steve were thought of as some kind of heroes, albeit slightly odd, because all ghost hunters were seen as odd. Ghosts were common in Amity Park, and with Tony’s usually fail proof technology, and Steve’s athleticism, they kept the town safe. “Ghosts? How many? Are you okay?”

Tony immediately dashed to his son’s side, checking over his scrapes and bruises. He frowned when he noticed Peter wincing at the contact, still sore from being thrown into a wall. “Let’s get you inside and looked at.” He turned to where MJ and Ned were standing. “Did either of you get hurt?”

“We’re fine,” MJ reassured him. “We just wanted to make sure Peter got home okay.”

“Thank you,” the man nodded at them.

They took their cue, and waved goodbye, heading off down the road. At the corner, they split ways, both heading towards their respective homes.

“What happened, Pete?” Tony asked his son as he helped him inside. “Did that ghost kid have anything to do with this?”

Peter winced at the comment, glad he could pass it off as an injury causing him pain. His parents weren’t the biggest fan of his alter ego. They understood the want to help, but he was still just a teenager. They believed he shouldn’t be out on his own. Which is why Peter refused to tell them it was him. He didn’t want them to try and get rid of his powers, or keep him from going out. “Yeah, he was there. Actually, he kept it from being worse. He did a lot of good, kept MJ and Ned safe.”

“But not you,” Tony scoffed as he led Peter into the guest bathroom.

“Not his fault,” Peter raised his head to look at his dad. “I got in the way of one of the enemy ghosts. Gave him an opening to save a kid.”

Tony’s gaze softened. He knew his younger son wanted to take after his parents, and save people. Steve had done so during his time in the army, and Tony did with the technology he created. “I’m glad you helped keep someone safe, but you also need to think about yourself.”

“Tony?” Steve’s head peered around the corner. “Is Peter-”

“Hey, Pops,” Peter waved sheepishly. “How are Aunt Pep and Uncle Rhodey?”

“What happened, Peter?” Steve kneeled down next to his husband. He gently wiped away a few drops of blood from his son’s chin.

“Apparently, there were ghosts,” Tony answered. “MJ and Ned were with him, but they’re okay. Can you pass me the antibiotic ointment?”

Steve nodded, grabbing it off the nearby shelf where they kept first aid supplies. Peter got hurt a lot, whether at school, walking home, because of ghosts, or because he tripped and fell. “How many were there?”

“Eight, nine?” Peter shrugged. “More than usual.”

“Maybe we should try and ghost-proof you,” Steve joked as he watched Tony carefully tend to Peter’s obvious injuries. “So no ghosts can get within twenty feet of you.”

“I could do that, you know,” Tony commented. “It wouldn’t be very hard. I could just take one of the shields we have for the house, break it down, and put the required elements into something smaller, like a bracelet, or—”

“Dad, it’s fine,” Peter cut him off. He tried to keep the urgency out of his voice. If his dad _did_ make a device like that, it would keep ghosts away from him, but it would also keep Peter from being able to “go ghost” and stop the bad ones. “I’ll just be more careful.”

“Fine,” Tony allowed. “But if it doesn’t get better, we might have to change that.”

“Can we go eat?” Peter changed the subject. “I didn’t get to finish lunch today. I had a project to work on.”

“Yeah, bud, we can go eat.” Steve stood up. “Your aunt and uncle want to see you. Go ahead. We’ll be right behind you.”

Peter nodded, understanding the unspoken words. They wanted to talk to each other about something in private. He closed the bathroom door behind him, heading towards dining room slowly. Pain shot down his back as he moved, but he didn’t want to worry his family. He knew his aunt and uncle would find out at some point, likely the following day when they called his parents to ask about the scrapes on his face and arms.

Peter smiled when he spotted his aunt and uncle, sitting across from each other. They stood up when they saw him, folding him into a hug. He ignored the sting of the scrape on his chin rubbing against his uncle’s shirt, and the pressure of his aunt’s arm against his back.

He hadn’t seen them in a while. Peter missed having his family around. While nights like the one they were currently having didn’t happen very often, he appreciated when they did.

Peter sat down next to his aunt after breaking away from the hug. He smiled at his brother, before turning to answer Pepper’s questions about school. While he did so, he served himself food, stomach grumbling.

Tony and Steve reappeared five minutes later, taking their spots at the table. After a beat of uncomfortable silence, the four adults and two teenagers eased into easy conversation as they finished dinner.

Dinner and dessert flew by, and before Peter knew it, it was ten at night. If it had been a school night, he and Harley would have been forced to do their schoolwork. Luckily, it was a Friday, meaning they could spend more time with Rhodey and Pepper.

The family moved to the living room. The room was bathed in soft light, and Peter felt sleepy. It had been a rough week, and he was exhausted, but he didn’t want to miss anymore time with his family. He forced his eyes to stay open as he curled up carefully, so as not to make his back worse, on one end of the couch. His aunt was next to him, and his uncle on the other side. His dads were on the other couch, and Harley was sprawled across the floor.

“We should do this again soon,” Harley offered. “With everyone else, too.”

Peter nodded his agreement. “Yeah, we haven’t seen everyone in a while.”

“We’ll try and make that happen,” Tony promised.

Pepper shifted to check her watch. “We should probably head out soon. It’s getting late, and we both have early mornings tomorrow.”

Peter frowned at that. He wished his family lived closer to each other, and had weekly, or even monthly, reunions. Instead, they were only able to all see each other about once a year. He didn’t want his aunt and uncle to go, but he knew they had to.

As they got up to leave, Peter managed to rouse himself from his half-awake state to give Pepper and Rhodey one more hug before they left, wincing slightly as their arms tightened around his still sore back. It escaped everyone’s notice except Harley’s.

Peter ignored his brother’s worried look to walk outside with his family to their cars. He continued to ignore his brother as he dashed inside to his room the moment Pepper and Rhodey were out of sight.

He knew Harley would corner him in the morning, but until then, he pushed the thought out of his head.

* * *

It had to be luck that Peter was able to avoid Harley the next day.

Peter was woken up around ten by the sound of a plane engine right overhead. He was annoyed at first, until he realized what it had to mean.

As fast as he could with his injured back, Peter dashed out of bed and to the roof. It was definitely an unplanned visit, as she hadn’t told them she was coming to visit.

“Aunt Carol!” Peter beamed when he spotted her. As much as he loved all his aunts, there was something special about her. While Peter’s interests tended to rest on technology, he had a soft spot for astronomy. Carol, as an astronaut, always had something new to tell her nephew, and no one absorbed her knowledge like he did. He liked to hear about her time in the air force, how she met Maria, and the space mission she had gone on.

“Hey Peter!” She hopped down from the plane. She lived far enough away from the Stark-Rogers that her preferred method of transportation was plane. She and Maria had their own plane, and Tony had installed a landing strip on their roof so they could visit more often. She ruffled his hair, ignoring his half-hearted protests. “Did I wake you?”

“Maybe,” he grinned. “But it’s okay. I’m glad to see you. Did you tell dad or pops that you were coming?”

“Nope. I wanted it to be a surprise. Don’t tell me everyone else is still asleep.”

“I think dad is down in his lab. Pops is probably at the gym with Uncle Bucky. They usually spend Saturday morning there. I’m not sure about Harley.”

“Well, let’s go see if anyone wants to join us for ice cream. Unless you have any plans?”

“No,” Peter shook his head. “Let’s go!”

He forgot to hide his injury as he led his aunt downstairs. She spotted it almost immediately, frowning as she asked about it. Peter waved it off, trying to act as nonchalantly as possible. He knew she didn’t buy it, but she didn’t press.

Instead, she bounded down the stairs, and barged into the lab, startling Tony who almost dropped the ghost containment unit that he was holding.

“Jesus Christ, Carol. Don’t you know how to knock?”

“Didn’t you hear my plane?” she countered.

“Touché,” Tony muttered. “What brings you to Amity Park?”

“Can’t I just want to treat my favorite nephew to ice cream?”

Peter beamed at that. He knew, logically, that Carol loved him and Harley equally, but his interests lined up with hers more often. It was nice to hear she appreciated that.

“I think Harley’s still sleeping,” Tony joked. “Don’t know how he can sleep through your noisy ass plane, but whatever. Want me to wake him?”

Peter scowled at his father.

“I’m joking, geez, kid,” Tony held up his hands. “I know she means you. Go on without me. Steve won’t be back for a while, and he usually brings food back.”

“Should we wake your brother?” Carol asked Peter.

“Nah, he’s a nightmare when he doesn’t get enough sleep. Maybe we can bring something back for him, though. Just let me change, and I’ll be good to go. Meet you at the front door in five minutes?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Carol called up the stairs as Peter disappeared. Once she was sure he was gone, she turned towards Tony. “What’s up with his back?”

“He and his friends got caught in ghost crossfire last night. Or so he says. He’s been acting off, recently. He’s not around as much, and he’s gotten more detentions this year than ever before. Which used to be never. I’m glad you’re here. He won’t admit it, but you’re his favorite aunt. Maybe he’ll open up to you.”

Tony was aware his younger son didn’t like to put any stress on anyone’s shoulder, but he was a little more willing to open up to Carol. He didn’t know what it was, but he was glad that Peter had someone he was willing to talk to, even if it wasn’t him or Steve.

“I’ll see if I can find anything out,” Carol promised. “I won’t break his trust, though.”

“I won’t ask you to, unless his life is in danger.” Tony knew if Peter asked Carol to promise not to tell anyone, she wouldn’t. But if his son’s life was in danger, Tony needed to know.

Carol nodded. “I’m going to go, before Peter barges down here and scares you worse than I did.”

“Why do I let you steal my kids for ice cream when you speak to me like that?”

“Because they love me.”

“Fair enough, Danvers. Now go, before Peter gets impatient.”

Carol saluted as she climbed the stairs. She made her way to the front door, where Peter was already waiting for her. “Lead the way, Pete.”

* * *

They had been walking down the street, on the way to get ice cream, when a ghost appeared. Peter nervously looked around, trying to see if there was somewhere he could slip away to in order to go ghost. Not seeing one that his aunt wouldn’t notice him disappearing to, he sighed heavily. He had wanted to keep his alter ego a secret for as long as possible, but now, he would have to risk it. He grabbed Carol’s arm, and guided her down an alleyway.

“Peter?” Carol asked, looking worried. Her nephew was looking nervous as he wrung his hands in front of his body.

“Please don’t tell my dads about this?”

“What—” she started to ask.

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” She could tell it was a serious matter. “But whatever it is, we _are_ going to talk about later.”

“Fine,” he nodded. With another quick glance around, he closed his eyes. “Going ghost.” The familiar sensation of the transformation traveled through his body. His limbs tingled, and he felt lighter. Pushing off his feet, he took to the air, ignoring his aunt’s surprised look. “Hey!” Peter shouted at the ghost. “What did ice cream ever do to you?”

His fist started to glow, and he blasted the ghost, sending him backwards.

“Oh joy, the ghost kid.” The ghost was annoyed by Peter’s appearance. “You are no match for me!”

“Oh yeah? Think again.” Peter focused on his powers. It had taken him a while to figure out how they worked, and every once in a while, a new power popped up. He threw a few blasts of energy at the ghost, barely avoiding a blast the ghost sent back. He was grazed on one of his arms, the sleeve of his outfit tearing. He ignored it, turning back to the fight. To stay in theme with the attack of an ice cream store, Peter used his cryokinesis to freeze his opponent. When he used that certain power, his eyes glowed blue, instead of the green they were in his ghost form.

This particular ghost was really no match for Peter’s experience. Once he was certain the ghost was going nowhere, he flew towards where he and his friends had stashed some of the ghost containment units. There were two GCUs left in the nearest location, and Peter grabbed one. His foe was still frozen, and he easily captured the ghost.

As soon as the danger was gone, Peter turned intangible to go through the building wall to get to his aunt.

She was pokerfaced, waiting before he was his human self again before saying anything. “How long has this been going on?” She knew about “Peter Poltergeist” from the news, but he hadn’t been known to anyone outside of Amity Park until a year ago.

“Uh, two years?”

“Is this where your countless injuries that your dads tell me about come from?”

Peter nodded. He healed quicker than a normal human, but he was always getting new injuries, so it looked like he never healed. He knew his back would be healed the next day, and hoped by not having that injury anymore meant Harley wouldn’t question him.

“Who else knows?”

“Just MJ and Ned.”

She was silent for a moment. She knew she had promised Tony to tell him if whatever Peter was up to was endangering his life, and it was. Not in the way Tony was thinking about, but Peter was throwing himself into fights. But she had also promised Peter not to tell his dads. So she told him as much. “I know I promised not to tell your parents, but I also promised your dad to tell him if you were endangering your life, which you are.”

“I—” Peter started to defend himself.

“But I understand. Your family is a little… unconventional when it comes to the subject of ghosts. You do have only good intentions. I do think an adult should’ve known before now. You could sustain serious injuries from this. I won’t tell your parents, but only if you keep me updated. If you ever get an injury more serious than sore muscles or a few scrapes, like something you would need to go to the hospital for, I will go to your parents. Deal?”

Peter hesitated, then agreed. He knew he wasn’t going to get a better deal, and it was better than he originally thought he might get. “Deal.”

“Good. Now, how about we go grab that ice cream, and when we get back to your place, you tell me more about these powers you have.”

* * *

After getting back to his home, Peter led his aunt up to his room. She sat at his desk, while he propped himself on the edge of his bed. They chatted comfortably while they ate their ice cream. Peter tried to drag it out, not wanting to tell his aunt of his extracurricular activities that weren’t sanctioned by the school.

Unfortunately for him, Carol only let him avoid the topic for twenty minutes.

“So.” She stared at him, eyebrow raised.

Peter sighed. “Alright. Dad’s inventions are usually foolproof by the time he lets any of us near it. I went to investigate the ghost portal, tripped over wires because I’m a klutz, accidentally pressed a button, and yeah. I wound up with these powers. I was wearing one of the portal suits, which became the base of my outfit when I’m a ghost, except in different colors. It took a while to gain control of. Once in a while, I get a new power.”

“How does it work?”

Peter stood up. He walked over to the window and pulled down the shades. He didn’t want to risk anyone else seeing, even though he was on the third story of the building. He stared at the wall instead of making eye contact with his aunt. Instead, he made awkward eye contact with himself in the mirror above his dresser. “I’m going ghost!"

He watched as his hair went from it’s normal brown curls to straight white, and as his eyes changed from brown to green. His jeans and science pun shirt faded away into his blue and red suit. He hovered above the ground, showing off his flying skills.

“Impressive,” Carol nodded. “What else?”

“I can go intangible.” Peter did so. Just as he decided what to show her next, the door burst open without warning. 

* * *

“What the _fuck_ , Parker?” Harley stared in disbelief at his brother. 

Harley had wanted to talk to his brother about what had happened the day before. He was suspicious when it came to his brother’s disappearances and injuries. He was afraid that Flash had started physically hurting Peter, or Peter got involved in something bad. He never expected to see the Ghost Kid, who was now so obviously his brother, hovering in Peter’s bedroom. He barely even noticed his aunt sitting in the corner, laughing to herself about the situation. Harley kind of regretted not knocking, but knew if he had, Peter would somehow have found a way out of the conversation. And now he knew the truth.

Peter, it seemed, was just as shocked. He reverted back to human form, falling to the ground hard. “Ow,” Peter muttered as he pushed himself back off the ground. “Can’t you knock?” He glared at his brother.

Harley just stared at him, a questioning look on his face.

“I, uh, have ghost powers?” Peter was nervous, which resulted in his statement coming out as a question.

“I’m going to say this again. What the actual _fuck_? How long? Do dad and pops know?”

“Uh, since I was fourteen, so two years? No, they don’t, and don’t you dare tell them, Keener. Only MJ, Ned, and Aunt Carol know.” He pointed at her, and she waved from her spot. “And you, I guess.”

“How did you keep this hidden for so long?”

“… honestly, I don’t know,” Peter admitted. “I don’t think I look _that_ different in ghost form, but no one else has figured it out.”

“Also, _Peter Poltergeist?_ What a dumbass name. I didn’t know my brother was so lame, even though he does have ghost powers.” 

“Hey, it was the best I could do! Alliteration, man. All the other names Ned and I came up with just sounded dumb.”

“You should’ve let MJ come up with something.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Okay, so now that Harley knows,” Carol interrupted. “I want him to keep an eye on you for me. I know you won’t tell me everything. Harley, I’m counting on you.”

“You got it, Aunt Carol.”

“Great,” Peter groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “It’s bad enough with MJ. Now I have you guys also on my case.”

“Seems fair to me,” Carol grinned. “It’s either us, or your parents.”

“That would be so much worse,” Peter shuddered. “If anyone else in this family knew, I’d be dead.”

“A dead ghost,” Harley chuckled. “What a concept. So this is why we don’t see you anymore, isn’t it?”

“Only MJ and Ned knew. After a fight, I’d go to one of their houses. I can’t let dad and pops know. Those were safe places. I don’t want to avoid you guys, but it’s the only way I felt I could keep that part of me safe.”

“Well, now that we know,” Harley gestured at himself and their aunt, “we can help you out with that. You’re not in this alone. Got it?” He glared at his brother. Peter was one of the nicest people Harley knew, not like he’d tell him, though. But his brother had a problem with shouldering everything himself, and not letting anyone help. “ _Got it?_ ”

“Yeah, got it. Just… you don’t know what you’re agreeing to,” Peter warned his brother, and by extension, his aunt. “MJ and Ned help a lot. We have stashes of equipment across town and at school, and always carry stuff on us at all times. They’re my backup. They follow me into all the trouble I get myself into because they choose to. If you ever want out, I’m not going to blame you. It’s not the easiest thing to deal with. Except the Box Ghost. He’s easy to beat.”

“Box Ghost?” Harley snorted. “Fucking ridiculous, Parker. But either way, I’m not backing out of this. You’re my brother, and family should stick together. If and when you decide to tell dad and pops, you know we’ll be there for you.”

Peter hugged his brother, relieved that he now knew. It was still nerve-racking that there was one more way people could find out, but it felt like he had his brother back.

They could handle this. Together.

* * *

“Dumbass.”

It was the first word out of MJ’s mouth when she found out that two more people now knew about Peter’s alter ego.

“I know, but hey!” Peter knew he was intelligent, but he made dumb decisions sometimes. Thanks to MJ, he could never forget it. “I couldn’t not tell them. Harley literally saw me using my powers, and there was no way to get around Aunt Carol.”

“At least we have more help now.” Ned was excited that he could talk to more people about it now.

“Yeah, I guess.” Peter’s smile was tight. “But if we can, let’s keep them out of this. They have other stuff to worry about, and we’ve been doing fine on our own.”

MJ stared at her friend for a moment. She knew her friend well. He didn’t like asking for help, which is why it was a miracle he was allowing her and Ned to help as much as they did. She couldn’t push him to accept more help. “For low-level and normal level ghosts, fine. We know what you can handle without much trouble. Hell, any of us could take care of the Box Ghost without breaking a sweat. But if we think you need help, it doesn’t matter if you agree. I will call Carol or Harley, or both.” Her tone of voice left no room for arguing. Whenever MJ made a decision, it was wise to follow it.

“Alright,” Peter sighed, resigned. “Can we just work on our project, please? I’ve had enough talk of ghosts these past couple days to last a lifetime.”

“Yeah. I’m not letting you losers tank my GPA. Let's try and get this done in two hours.” 

Peter tuned her out as he stared at his laptop screen. He wanted to finish this project, but all he could think about was all his other assignments that he had let pile up due to going out and hunting ghosts. He had promised his aunt that he wouldn’t go out and fight ghosts unless it was “100% absolutely necessary and if you didn’t, people would die.” His dads would be glad to see his grades go up.

He sighed, then started typing. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Two weeks later, and Peter found himself in a situation he didn’t know if he would be able to get out of without serious injury.

There were a lot of ghosts who didn’t like him, but none hated him more than Vlad. The ghost was also like him, as they were only both part ghost, and the other part, human. Vlad had known his father in college. Tony had been smarter than everyone, even when he was years younger. Vlad Masters had been the smartest before Tony started at MIT. And he got upset when a teenager was smarter than him. He had found a way to get into Tony’s general group of friends, the ones who he knew from classes, but didn't spend time with otherwise. Tony had come to trust him enough that a betrayal would sting.

Tony had created a ghost portal first, and Vlad had used the opportunity to his advantage. He had been training for years, and his powers were far more developed than Peter’s were. He was one of the only ones who knew Peter’s alter ego, but they were too invested in trying to defeat each other to leak anything. Vlad was also kind-of-in-love with Pepper, and had to behave when he was around the family. Peter was her nephew, so he tried to use him to get close to her.

Peter hated it, and would rather his parents, and Pepper, find out what kind of a person Vlad really was. He knew they were smart, that if they spent enough time around him they could figure it out on their own. However, they were never around him for longer than five minutes, which wasn’t enough time.

“Get back here!” Vlad called out as he flew towards Peter.

His parents were hosting a party for “The Company,” which is how Peter liked to refer to Stark Industries that his dad owned, but Pepper was in charge of. There were a bunch of nicely dressed businessmen and women in his home, enjoy fancy food and an open bar. Vlad had been invited, as he had a lot of stocks in The Company. But he was using it to access Tony’s technology, something that did not impress Peter.

He had snuck out of the party, ducking into a closet so no one would see him transform. He turned intangible, and flew out of the closet, going through walls to find Vlad more quickly. He had found him in Tony’s lab, trying to hack into Friday’s files.

Peter had snuck up on him from the back, whispering his passwords to Friday to ensure everyone would be locked out of the system until he reversed it. Only six people had the authority to do so, the list also including Tony, Steve, Harley, Pepper, and Rhodey. The rest of his family would get silent notifications, but since the lab was also on lockdown, they wouldn’t be able to see what was going on.

Harley would be able to figure out what was going on, but Peter was thankful he couldn’t interfere and possibly get hurt. Peter knew that within five minutes, his dad would slip away from the party to see what was going on, while his pops stayed upstairs to make sure there was no threat there. Only if one called the other, would they be in the same place.

“Hey, Vlad!” Peter taunted the ghost.

“Peter Stark-Rogers,” Vlad sneered. “You aren’t going to be able to stop me this time.”

“Think again.” Peter raised his eyebrow as the metal, ghost proof doors came down. They were infused with ecto-ranium, that would weaken them slowly. The screens started flashing, requesting a password override.

“What did you do?!” Vlad rose up, speeding towards Peter.

“Locked you out. Locked everyone out of every system until I enter my password, fingerprint, retinal scan, and a steady pulse into the system. You’re _not_ going to steal my dad’s ideas!”

“Get back here!” Vlad knew just as well as Peter did that someone in the family would be down soon to see what had happened. He hoped to get in and out without too much of an issue, but he should’ve known Stark had some sort of defense mechanisms that the brat knew about. He threw a ball of energy at the teenager, catching him off guard.

The next five minutes allowed them to fight each other with no restrictions. They threw energy back and forth, Vlad multiplied himself, Peter used his cyrokinesis. They were thrown backwards, crashing into the reinforced doors and feeling weakened, or flying through computers.

Banging on the door started them both, causing both of them to throw a blast of ghostly fire at the door.

“Peter?” Tony’s voice called, concerned. “Can you tell me why the lab and Friday are on lockdown?”

Peter grimaced, unsure how to answer his father.

“Dad?” Harley’s voice could be heard on the other side of the doors. “I’ve got this. Go tell pops everything is okay.”

“I’m not leaving my son in possible danger!” Tony was frustrated. No one was telling him what was going on with one of his children, and it was driving him crazy.

“Dad.” Harley’s voice was firm. “I know how to help Peter. He _will_ be okay, as long as me, or Ned, or MJ, or even Aunt Carol, can talk to him. We know. Please.”

“I just want to help.”

Peter was engaged in the fight against Vlad, but he could still hear his family’s conversation. It hurt, knowing how upset his dad was that he couldn’t help. Peter wanted to tell his parents, at least let them know he loved and trusted them. But besides them being ghost hunters, it would put them in more danger from Peter’s enemies.

“He will tell you, one day. Today’s not the day. But it’s not you. It’s not pops. This is something he needs to tell you on his own time. I’m not supposed to know, Aunt Carol isn’t supposed to know. But we do, so we will help him. Please, just go check on pops, let him know everything will be okay.”

Peter wasn’t able to listen to the rest of the conversation, as he was thrown backwards, landing in a groaning pile at the lab’s back door. He raised his arms to protect himself as a ball of ghostly fire flew towards his face. His arms were shaking, the ecto-ranium sapping his energy. It burned his skin when he touched it, and as long as part of his body was in contact with it, he couldn’t use his powers. He had managed to stay away from it thus far, but now, his entire back was pressed against it.

He was cornered, and his only advantage was that he knew the lab. If he managed to turn the ghost portal on, he could shove Vlad through it. Peter set his mind on the plan, allowing his lower half to return to its normal state, giving him a little more energy. He pushed against the door with his feet, getting away from the door.

Once he was fully ghost again, he summoned all his energy, before throwing it at Vlad. Peter shoved the other half-ghost into the ghost portal with the last bit of his strength. As soon as he door was closed, Peter collapsed to the ground, back to his normal self. He was exhausted, from the exertion he spent in the fight, the injuries he sustained, and the ecto-ranium that sapped his strength. 

After lying on the floor for a few minutes, listening to Harley talk about something (Peter couldn’t make out the words over his pounding head), he managed to push himself up. He made his way slowly over to the computer, where it scanned his fingerprint and eye. He typed in his password, then let Friday’s sensors take his pulse. The few minutes he spent on the floor was enough to regulate it.

The doors slid open, revealing Harley. He entered the lab quickly, moving to kneel next to his brother. “Let’s get you up and out of here before dad and pops get down here.”

Peter nodded, allowing his brother to take the majority of his weight as they slipped out the backdoor, using the secret escape route to make their way upstairs to their rooms.

“Friday, let me know if dad or pops tries to come in here,” Harley locked the door to the brothers’ shared bathroom as he spoke to the AI. “Tell them I’m with Peter.”

_“Of course.”_

Harley went to work, gently cleaning the cuts and scrapes that were all over Peter’s limbs, a few on his face. Then, he wrapped up Peter’s twisted ankle, taking extra care not to jostle it. Peter let it happen, half-asleep against the bathroom wall.

_“Your fathers are on their way. They have passed on guests to Ms. Potts and Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes. They want to check on Peter’s condition.”_

“Thanks, Fri. Can you ask them if they’ll meet me in my room in five minutes?”

It was quiet for a moment, then Friday responded, letting Harley know his parents agreed.

“Stay with me, just a little bit longer.” His brother was almost asleep, and Harley wanted to get him in bed before then. He heaved a sleepy and injured Peter off the floor, and managed to drag him over to the bed. “I’ll check on you in the morning. If you need anything, let one of us know.”

Peter nodded, then fell asleep.

* * *

“Where’s Peter?” Tony stood up from his spot sitting on Harley’s bed. He expected both of his sons to be there.

Steve rose, too, resting a comforting hand on his husband’s shoulder. He was also worried, but he knew that it would be better not to show Tony exactly how worried. It would only make the inventor more frenzied.

“Peter’s in bed. He’s exhausted.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Steve asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. “We just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Harley shook his head. “Aunt Carol will check on him. If you need to know, she’ll tell you.”

“No! I am done with all of you keeping secrets from me about my own child! I demand to know what’s going on. I am telling you, Harley Keener Stark-Rogers. Either you tell me right now, or.. or…”

“No lab privileges, and you have to be home everyday immediately after school for the next month.” Steve’s tone was firm. It was time to put his foot down. He couldn’t excuse Peter’s odd behavior anymore, and he couldn’t let Harley cover for Peter’s injuries.

“Fine.” Harley stared down his parents. “I can use the lab at school during my free period if I need anything. This is Peter’s secret to tell, and I’m not going to betray his trust. If Aunt Carol thinks you need to know, she’ll tell you.” He wasn’t a fan of not telling them, but he knew if he told them, that he would likely loose Peter’s trust. He had been old enough when adopted to remember his birth family. Peter only had a few vague memories, but Harley had five years of memories. It was still painful to think about how he lost them. He wasn’t going to loose another family member as long as he could help it.

His parents still looked upset, but they also softened a bit, as if they knew his thought process. They had helped him through the nightmares when he first became a part of the family, waking up every single time he had one. They proved to him, time and time again, that they weren’t going to leave him.

“Hey.” Steve’s voice was soft. “No matter what happens, we’ll get through it together. As a family. But we need to trust each other.”

Harley could only nod.

“Can you tell me that Peter’s going to be okay?”

Harley nodded again.

“Okay, then let’s talk about this again tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll have Carol check on Pete, so we’ll know for sure he’s okay. We’ll revisit this tomorrow, sit down at talk as a family. Sound good?” Steve was still speaking to Harley, but he kept his gaze locked on his husband.

“Fine,” Tony grumbled. He stalked off, grumbling to himself, leaving Steve and Harley behind.

* * *

Tony knocked on the door. He waited until Peter told him to come in to open it. He stepped into the room, eyes drawn to his son who was still in bed. Tony catalogued the injuries he could spot. Black eye, bruised nose, cuts and scrape all over, and what looked like a few burns.

“What happened, Peter?” Tony tried to keep his voice level. “I just want to make sure nothing bad is happening to you. You come home with injuries all the time, and you won’t tell us why.”

“It’s… I know how it looks.” Peter paused as his dad sat on the edge of his bed. “I get hurt a lot. But it’s not bullies. It’s not anything… bad. I’m just trying to help people. I’ve been doing this for two years. I may end up with injuries, I may have some added stress, but…I’m okay, dad,” Peter promised.

Tony stared at his son for a moment, before nodding. He did have to agree that even though he came home with more injuries, Peter seemed more like himself these days. Though Tony still wished that Carol told him what had happened, he was glad that a trusted adult was on Peter’s side. Peter also seemed closer to Harley. They had been almost inseparable when they were younger, but that had changed two years ago. Something had happened in Peter’s life that made him start to distance himself from them. Not enough to be obvious, at first. It seemed like Peter was getting more involved in school and with his academics, which Tony and Steve encouraged with both of their sons.

Peter started getting more detentions for missing class, started spending more and more time at MJ and Ned’s homes. Tony didn’t say anything at first, because he knew his schedule also didn’t allow for much family time. It wasn’t until he started making time to spend time together, but Peter was always busy, did he get concerned. Harley made sure to have one night off a week to have dinner with his parents. After Peter missed the third family dinner in a row, they realized how different Peter was.

Tony hadn’t known what to do. Even though Peter was the younger of his two sons, he had been Tony’s first child. It had been a year before he and Steve had started dating that Tony had adopted the toddler. Tony hadn't felt ready for a child until then. It was something he thought he might consider at some point in the future, but not that early. However, he had gone to an orphanage with Pepper for official business. All the other kids were excited to meet him, pushing forward to say hi. Peter had been one of the younger kids, one of the only ones who patiently waited his turn.

Something about toddler Peter had caught Tony's attention, so he made sure to talk to him after greeting everyone. Even at a young age, Peter was smart. He was interested in how things worked, and wanted to build things. He also wanted to go to space one day, and his eyes lit up as he talked about his interests. He grew embarrassed when he realized how much he was talking, but Tony didn’t mind.

Tony went back on a weekly basis, making sure to say hi to all the kids, before spending time with Peter. After seven visits, he knew that he wanted Peter as his son. Tony put in the paperwork, child proofed his home for the home visit, and tried to cut his schedule back. Pepper and Rhodey were slightly dubious at first, as they knew Tony often spent long hours alone in his lab. However, after meeting Peter, they knew it was a good fit, and helped Tony adjust to looking after someone else, when he could barely look after himself. Tony became a great father, and Peter grew up with a dad who made him feel loved, and special. Pepper and Rhodey were thankful for Peter, mostly because he helped Tony become the man they knew he could. Tony had been through a lot before deciding to adopt Peter, and the toddler gave him a reason to get better.

Then Tony had met Steve, and Peter got to have another parental figure present in his life. Peter spent four years as an only child, being spoiled by his two dads. Then, when all three of them agreed it was the right time, and they wanted it, they adopted Harley. While Tony had adopted Peter when he had been four (and a half, as Peter always used to remind him), Harley was ten. While he wasn’t a teenager, he wasn’t the little kid that most families wanted to adopt. However, there had been no doubt in Tony and Steve’s mind that they wanted to adopt him, and make Harley part of their family.

They had been engaged by then, having found a home, and both had a steady income. Peter didn’t have many friends at that point. Ned was his best friend, and he could often be spotted hanging out with Gwen or Harry on the playground. However, though they never stopped being friends, Gwen and her family had moved, and Harry had gone to another school after elementary.Having Harley around meant that they both had a live-in friend. Peter had gone on to become friends with MJ not too much later, and Harley found friends through the math team.

The family grew close, and Tony and Steve got married about a year later.

Tony was thankful for the family he had. Steve was good for him, helped balance out his flaws, and smoothed out the flawed edges. It was the healthiest romantic relationship Tony had ever had. He wasn’t sure exactly when he realized he wanted it to last, but it was sooner than he would ever imagine in any other relationships. Before Harley, before Steve, and even before Peter, Tony didn’t love many people in that all-encompassing way. Rhodey and Pepper were his family, and the two who knew the most about him. And while everyone who would one day be his sons’ aunts and uncles meant a lot to him, it wasn’t the same. He didn’t rely on them the way he did with Rhodey and Pepper, couldn’t make himself believe they would always be there if he needed it. Tony had to work and heal from his childhood when he only had Jarvis and Ana. It was better now, and Tony was happy and proud of his new family. Life would never be perfect— there were times that reminded him of the bad days, of being alone in his parents’ huge, lonely house, or drinking until he blacked out. But it was as close as it could be now.

He was still learning to be a good father, a good husband, a good man, every day. But when he was with his family, Tony felt like he was doing it. So seeing Peter pull away had been awful. Tony didn’t want to fail his son the way his father had failed him.

Harley and Carol assured him he wasn’t failing. That Peter was just trying to figure out his place in the world. Tony wanted to believe it, but he always doubted himself when it came to being a father. He didn’t really have a basis to go off of. He knew teenagers could be stubborn, would often shout things out in anger, rather than actually meaning it. But it still stung.

Even if Peter wasn’t going to tell him what was going on, Tony promised himself that he would make more of an effort to understand his son, to listen. He wanted to be there for him in any capacity he could. Sometimes, because Peter was his first son, Tony felt like it was Peter who made him believe he was good, that he could create a loving family. Peter had been everything to him. He still was, but there was also Harley and Steve.

It was hard to be a parent, when you knew your kid was going through something you couldn’t help with. It was hard, watching him come home with bruises and pulled muscles when you didn’t know where they were coming from.

Peter was scrawnier than his brother was, more introverted. Harley was fairly well-known at their school. Peter was not. Some people didn’t even realize they were brothers. Tony also knew Peter was more insecure in himself than Harley was, and had been bullied in the past. Tony, and Steve, had been worried that Peter was being hurt by another student, but Harley eased those worries.

No matter what it was, Tony wanted to be there for his son.

* * *

Peter knew he would be a sight for sore eyes, but besides his fight with Vlad, and his parents’ concern, life wasn’t too bad. He had found it easier to be around his family again, now that Harley knew the truth. He knew that made his dads happier, too.

He still had to duck out of family functions, but sometimes, MJ and Ned took care of the minor threats for him. MJ even helped Peter rename himself. They all agreed that they could do better than Peter Poltergeist. Now, he was Peter Phantom. It was a new chapter to his life. One where he could be more open with his family, even if it wasn’t his whole family.

He kew his dad only agreed with him somewhat when Peter told him he was okay. He was very clearly injured, but he wasn’t as evasive as he was before. He still wasn’t going to tell them, but he didn’t try to bolt when confronted.

One day, Peter knew he would have to tell his parents. Until then, Peter was going to continue to grow as a hero, and as a person.

There was a lot he wanted to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this ended up being less Irondad/Spiderson than I intended it to be. But I think it still counts. I had more fun writing this than I imagined I would. It seemed like a good fit to put the Marvel characters into Danny Phantom. What an iconic show.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it.


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